Affection, interaction and movement: keys in development

The uterus is the first environment of the fetus, and in this environment, interactions between the fetus and the mother, and between the mother and her affective family system, begin to be modulated.

The first affective connections occur before birth in the shared states of mother and the future baby and the environment of the mother who reaches the fetus through her.

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Adapting the environment from the affective relationship

In addition to that emotional current to which it is exposed, the fetus also receives physical stimuli from its immediate environment, the uterine walls and the amniotic fluid. The development of the fetus takes place in a liquid environment, the maternal uterus. In the he will begin to receive the first stimuli such as vestibular stimuli, through the swaying of the placenta; the tactile ones, with the friction of the walls of the uterus; the auditory ones (both the filtered external sounds, and the internal sounds of his mother's organism).

Thus, the fetus will begin to respond to that first stimulation; Through movement, she will change position before finally positioning herself in the birth canal, pushing and pressing on the belly mother, will suck his fingers, respond to the flavors of food that come through the umbilical cord, and his response will be fundamentally with movements, incipient movements and with little control, governed and promoted by the primitive reflexes that help him to adapt to the middle of it.

Later the moment of delivery will arrive, and the primitive reflexes will allow and facilitate it to conclude with the exit of the uterus, producing the first contact with the outside, an aerial environment governed by gravity which must adapt.

And it will be the incipient, primitive movements that will promote adaptation to the new environment in which the baby is going to develop. The motor to be interested in the environment is the affection, the affective relationship, the affective dance that occurs between the baby, father or mother.

In this dance, face-to-face interaction is crucial, in these interactions the baby first and later the child learns to calm down, to know each other and to know the other.

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The correct neurological development of the baby

After birth, a baby has millions of neurons present waiting to connect with each other. Neural connections will be produced through physical and affective stimulation and the response to that stimulation, which is what we call learning. More than four million neural connections are generated in every minute in the life of a newborn.

These connections are produced thanks to the stimulation that the baby receives through the different senses: auditory, tactile, kinesthetic, visual. This stimulation occurs when it is cared for, fed, cradled, cared for, smiled, looked at, perceived... and also through the movements that he spontaneously performs.

These rhythmic and stereotyped movements that he performs during his first year of life help different areas of the brain to mature and connect with each other. That is, the movements that we see babies perform occur according to a certain order, an innate program. Thus, the baby will raise his head, discover his hands and feet, raise his chest, turn from mouth to top to stomach and later to mouth bottom to face up, he will roll on her chest, crawl, crawl and walk, and later, he will be able to run, jump, climb stairs or walk on his feet lame.

If the baby covers each and every floor stage adequately and does not skip any, We will be ensuring that it covers all phases of development and that adequate neurological maturity occurs.

To the extent that we facilitate the establishment of sufficient neural connections, we promote the communication and maturity of the different areas of the brain. The best way to achieve this is through adequate emotional and physical stimulation, and promoting movement at each stage of development. For this it is important that the baby remains on the floor.

On the ground you will have the opportunity to explore your environment. Thus will arise the need to turn around and later move by crawling, crawling and finally wandering and then running, jumping, climbing, cycling, smiling at their peers, looking at each other, and struggling among children. Interacting face to face, like any mammalian cub, actually like all mammals. Filling with satisfaction in the interaction in the gaze, in the shared smile, in the free and liberated movement charged with impulsivity that is regulated as it matures and grows.

In this troubled moment where face-to-face interaction is limited, where facial connection is difficult, where we scare each other, where we limit movement, rubbing and if it is done it is done under the shadow of a mask that drowns the emotion, I can only worry and ask me... How will the development of brain, body organization, and sociability be affected in our growing, developing children?

There is no doubt that we will have to make efforts to compensate for the reduced movement from day to day in the classroom, and the diminished sociability that so much tension load is generating in the entire population and especially in the kids.

Author: Cristina Cortés Viniegra, Psychologist, therapist specialized in attachment and trauma, Director of the Vitaliza Health Psychology Center.